A Tale As Old As Time
by Explorer of the New
Summary: Why do we fight? Is it to protect the thing we love? Is it to protect the world from evil? Is it because we simply enjoy the feeling of winning? Or maybe, it is something deeper. Maybe it is something older. Maybe its something that's purely selfish. Maybe, just maybe, the answer is a whole lot more gray than one would like to think.


The road before him was long and barren with seemingly no end. Just cobblestone, fences, and trees in sight and the sound of a breeze washing over him. He didn't know how long he had been walking, just that he had to keep moving or else he would become nothingness. He couldn't stop, even if he wanted to, because there was no where to stop. No towns, no people, just a long road that ended where the horizon did. He wished he could see something, anything, just to break him from his eternal prison of loneliness. But nothing came. Nothing ever did.

The breeze was just a low drum, a ring of sorts, that came about when there was no sound to keep the senses awake, and it was the only thing that he had been able to hear for as long as he could remember. Just a constant ring, a constant noise that kept him tuned out to the world around him, but that didn't bother him all that much. He was used to not paying attention to his surroundings, since they never changed with every day that passed.

But what was unusual was the fact that he could no longer hear the buzz. It was almost like the silence that surrounded him had been broken, but he couldn't think of what could have possibly stopped the drone. Until he heard it.

A whimper.

It was barely anything, but it was the first noise that he had heard in a long time. So, he picked up his pace and he began to hear something else. They were like heavy footfalls on stone.

They were his footsteps. How he had never noticed the sound of his own footsteps was beyond him, but he couldn't focus on that. He had to just keep his mind around the whimper, because the more his mind drifted, the harder it was to focus on the noise. It was barely audible now, but he was determined to reach whoever it was the was in distress.

As he ran, the noise became louder, and he became more determined to find the source of it. But his mind was having a hard time focusing, other noises and sounds trying to distract him from the sounds that really mattered, but he couldn't let it happen. He would reach whoever made the noise, no matter how long it took him. His footsteps grew louder and louder, his footfalls sounding like claps of thunder. His breathing was becoming ragged, his heart beating out of his chest. But he couldn't focus on those feelings, he had somewhere to be.

Someone to help.

And then he saw her. A girl, no older than six years of age, crying all alone in the middle of the road. She looked into his eyes, seeming staring directly in his soul. He could see her. And she could see him. But something was off. It didn't matter though, he would reach this girl, and he would help her. Something he hadn't done in a long time.

But he didn't get to her first. A woman with a hood bent down to offer the girl an apple, cause him to slow down. The girl didn't need help, she was already being helped. She didn't need him. She didn't want him.

Those thoughts clouded his mind. He was useless, he was worthless, he couldn't even help a little girl. He should just keep walking. Just keep his eyes on the beaten path and keep on travelling. It was all he was good for. It was all he was ever good for.

The thoughts and doubts kept berating him, as he watched the hooded woman helping the girl, being more of a hero than he ever was or that he ever would be. He was useless. He was useless. He was useless. But now, he was angry.

Angry at himself. Angry at the world. Angry at the girl. Angry at the hooded woman, Angry at the sounds. Angry at the silence. Angry at the road. And that anger had finally boiled over.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The world lightened up, the hooded woman glancing to his direction, noticing him for the first time, and he stared back at her. He looked to the young girl that was still whimpering on the street-

But she wasn't there. Instead, a woman with Emerald hair looked at him, with disdain, surprise, and annoyance. Where did the girl go?

And then the battle started.

One second it was the hooded woman by herself, and the next she was surrounded by multiple people, attacking her from every direction. Wind, fire, and ice were being thrown in every direction, the hooded woman holding her own quite well, but even he could tell she was outgunned. He could tell that she would lose.

He could tell she needed help.

He drew his sword; an item he couldn't even remember the last time he had held in his hand. Next, his shield expanded, with his crest right along the front. She needed help, and he was able to help her. He would be helpful. He would be useful.

He charged towards the woman, clearing the distance in a moment, but she was hurt. His surprise had cost her, and it would only be a matter of time before she was killed. Before he could no longer help her. He needed to get to her, and nothing would stand in his way.

The first resistance he met was a boot that was connected to a silver-haired teen. It didn't matter, he couldn't let anything stop him from helping the hooded woman. He blocked the boot with his kite-shield, pushing it away with minimal effort, causing the teen to spin on the spot, moving with the momentum to try and kick him again. But he was done defending.

He brought Crocea Mors to the forefront, thrusting it forward, feeling the resistance against the tip of his blade, relishing in the feeling of his word striking true, piercing the teens leg at the ankle, stopping his momentum dead in his trucks. A brief grunt was all that was allowed because he brought his shield down upon his stunned opponents head one time. Two times. Three times. Until the teen had fallen to the ground.

The two women had finally reacted to his presence and attacked, but they were simply obstacles that he had get past. The first received his blade lodged directly into her stomach, the stunned expression upon the green-haired girls face being completely ignored, instead he chose to focus on the woman with twin blades that seemed to be made of glass. His sword was torn from his temporary scabbard, crossing paths with the two glass weapons that shattered upon impact of his sword. The black-haired woman backpedaled, but she wouldn't be able to escape from his sight. Not while the hooded-woman was still hurt.

He charged at her, shield in front of his center mass. She could hit him all she wants, but she would never land a fatal blow while he still had his shield.

She brought forth more weapons, both being deflected of the front of his shield, before he quickly bashed his shield into her chest, stunning her for a brief second, enough to let him get his sword around.

His blade grazed her face, the stench of blood hitting him just a second later, along with a yell of anger and pain. He brought his sword and shield in front of his body, his defense being basic but effective, causing the injured woman to hesitate before attacking again. He could do this all day if it meant protecting the hooded woman. He would guard her unconscious body with his life.

But it seemed like the assailant had clearly thought better and chose to not keep attacking. She had been hurt, even if the wound wasn't fatal, but she wouldn't get so lucky the second time. She hurled both of her short swords at him, both of which he blocked with ease as he ducked his head under his shield to keep the shards from hitting his face.

As peeked over the top, he noticed the woman now carried a bow, and he saw the arrow flying straight towards him. As it hit his shield, heat washed over him, along with the sounds of an explosion ringing in his ears. He was uninjured, but he had a feeling the woman didn't do it to hurt him.

When the smoke cleared, all three assailants were gone, the empty road coming back to him, more vibrant and soundful then he remembered, but he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. He had to help the woman, he had to save her.

He kneeled next to her body, her breathing was short and erratic, likely her body was already dying, but he wouldn't let it happen. He placed his hand on her heart and on the back of her neck and focused. He felt his body warm up, peace and comfort washing over him, but mostly focusing on the flow between his body and the woman that lied before him.

The color that had left her was finally returning, her breaths no longer gasp but deep inhales and exhales, and her eyes began to flutter open. She stared into his eyes, brown upon blue, and the connection had been established. Whether either of them knew it, their destiny's intertwined and had become one. The connection they had established went beyond the surface, their very souls were fused together now.

He smiled down at the woman that had just woken up, all the anger and hatred that he held receded below the surface, allowing him to finally revel in the fact that he had done something that saved someone. He had protected someone, and that was the best feeling in the world.

"Are you okay?" He asked. She sat up, his arms no longer touching her but hovering in case she fell back down, and she clenched her fist. She seemed surprised at her own movements.

"I-I think so. I actually feel great." The surprise was evident in her voice. "What did you do?" It wasn't accusatory, more curious, with his smile being ever present.

"I just gave you a little push in the right direction. You know, nothing big." She let out a small chuckle, still marveling at the fact that she felt no pain from the stab wound that she had not a moment ago.

"Well whatever you did, thank you. Truly, thank you." He blushed a little at the praise, his hand scratching the back of his head.

"Happy to help." The two sat there in silence for a moment, the girl studying his appearance. Blonde, blue eyes, and a sincere smile. But other than that, just an average looking guy, but not every guy was capable of what he did.

She kept staring at him, making him just a tiny bit uncomfortable, but he didn't think too much about it. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, no, I'm just lost in thought that's all." She stopped talking again and resorted back to staring.

"Well, I guess I should probably ask your name?" he didn't love this silence, feeling like he was being judged was not a great feeling after all, but not everyone could bring someone back from the brink of death.

"Amber. The name's Amber. What's your name?" She asked. His grin grew, a fake cocky that was more dorky than sexy blossoming on his face.

"The name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, and rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it." She laughed at his introduction, deflating his ego before her very eyes, but it didn't deter him. "Come on, lets get to a town or something. I have had enough road to last me a life time."

She didn't really understand what that meant, but she nodded her head either way. They did have to find a town because she was exhausted, not so physically, but mentally. "Yeah, a town sounds good."

The unlikely duo both got off the ground and walked in amicable silence in the search for a town for them to rest, neither realizing what they had done. Two destiny's intertwining, with more to join, becoming a shining light that would illuminate the darkness forever.

But that was a story for another day.

 **A/N Just an idea I had. Probably won't really lead to anything**


End file.
